BINGHAM FARMS, MI - Vincentric’s 2010 Best Fleet Value in America awards were announced recently, with Toyota, General Motors, and Ford leading the way, earning multiple Vincentric awards in multiple segments. In the premium categories, Volvo showed its strength by outpacing its competitors as it won three of the Best Fleet Value in America awards.
Many of the 2010 award winners were repeat victors. For Toyota, the Camry won for the 3rd year in a row, the Tacoma for the 5th consecutive year, and the five-time winner Prius took top honors in an Advanced Fuel Technology segment. Consistency was also prevalent at GM, with the fleet-critical ½ ton pickup segment won for the 3rd year in a row by sister vehicles Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500, while the Chevrolet Express G1500 Cargo Van earned its 3rd Vincentric award. Other repeat winners included the Volvo S40 and Volvo V50, as well as the Volkswagen Jetta Wagon.
New to the winners’ circle in 2010 were the re-designed Ford Taurus and the recently launched Ford Transit Connect, showing that Ford’s revamped product line is providing value to the fleet industry. A new category for 2010 was the Police Sedan segment, won by the Chevrolet Impala Police Edition.
To determine Vincentric’s Best Fleet Value in America awards, Vincentric used a comprehensive analysis of fleet lifecycle costs to identify the best fleet values in the industry. The company measured 8 cost factors for over 2,000 vehicle configurations in the 2010 model-year, with twenty different mileage/lifecycle timeframe scenarios used in each of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia. The resulting 16,000,000-plus lifecycle cost measurements were then reviewed to determine the winning vehicles.
The eight cost factors that determined overall lifecycle costs were depreciation, fuel, insurance, opportunity cost, financing, maintenance, taxes and state fees, and repairs. These costs were integrated with the Vincentric Fleet Price, which estimates the acquisition cost for each vehicle in the study.
“Each year the competition in the fleet industry gets tougher, and this year our data showed close races in almost every segment,” commented David Wurster, president of Vincentric. “The results show that buyers and lessees in the commercial and government markets have many quality vehicles to choose from, but the one that provides the the best value for a particular buyer is dependent on the user’s driving patterns and lifecycle terms,” he added.
The vehicle segments and the winners of Vincentric’s Best Fleet Value in America awards for the 2010 model-year are listed below. Further information regarding the study is available at .
2010 Winners of Vincentric’s Best Fleet Value in America
PASSENGER CARS
Subcompact - Toyota Yaris Sedan
Compact, Hatchback - Toyota Matrix Base
Compact, Sedan - Nissan Versa Base
Compact, Premium - Volvo S40 2.4i
Compact, Advanced Fuel Technology - Toyota Prius I
Mid-Size Sedan - Toyota Camry Base
Mid-Size Sedan, Premium - Audi A4 2.0T FrontTrak
Sedan, Advanced Fuel Technology - Toyota Camry Hybrid
Large - Ford Taurus SE FWD
Large, Premium - Lincoln MKS FWD
Police Sedan - Chevrolet Impala Police Edition
Prestige - Mercedes-Benz GL 550
Wagon - Volkswagen Jetta S
Wagon, Premium - Volvo V50 2.4i
UTILITY VEHICLES AND CROSSOVERS
Crossover, Compact, Mid Level - Toyota Rav4 Base 2WD 4-cyl.
Crossover, Compact, Premium - Volvo XC60 3.2 FWD
Crossover, Mid Size - Toyota Highlander Base 2WD 4-cyl.
Crossover, Mid Size, Premium - Cadillac SRX Base FWD
Crossover, Large - Ford Flex SE FWD
Crossover, Large, Premium - Lincoln MKT FWD
Crossover, Advanced Fuel Technology - Volkswagen Touareg TDI
SUV, Compact - Toyota FJ Cruiser 2WD
SUV, Mid Size - Toyota 4Runner SR5 2WD V-6
SUV, Large - Chevrolet Tahoe Commercial 2WD
SUV, Large, Premium - GMC Yukon Denali 2WD
SUV, Premium, Advanced Fuel Technology - Mercedes-Benz ML350 BlueTec
Sport/Utility Truck - Ford Explorer Sport Trac 2WD
